Perspectives on Heritage Tourism - Seameo-SPAFA

<strong>Perspectives</strong> on Heritage Tourism
<strong>Perspectives</strong> on Heritage Tourism
By and large, the situation of heritage conservation and preservation
in Southeast Asia varies in each country: the countries with limited
financial resources and expertise always face similar, and at times,
graver, problems. In order to preserve heritage sites, it is imperative
that risk management, conservation, and use of heritage are wellplanned,
timely, proactive, and relevant. Resources should be used
judiciously, and managers of heritage should be skilled. Community
involvement in conservation at the onset should also be given further
importance. Participatory management of the conserved resources
is an appropriate means of dealing with the local people with regard
to their own resources.
Indeed, individual approaches, solutions, and evaluations of management
practices need to be publicly shared for the mutual benefit
of all involved. This can help ensure that these cultural resources,
when integrated with tourism programmes, are managed with
integrity and that economic, social, and aesthetic needs can be
fulfilled.
Tourism is viewed not only as a business but also as a field that
is integrated with and spread across many disciplines. As both
tourism and heritage management evolve, there is a palpable need
for cultural resource managers to be better equipped in meeting
the demands of the profession. The future success of cultural
resource management is hinged on human resource development,
and a good start is in developing future experts in this field. The
challenge is to imbibe in them a more holistic and sensitive approach
to cultural management and tourism. After all, cultural resource
managers assume a more prominent role in the increasing
significance of heritage resources in tourism today and in the
future. Thus, I find it obligatory for students of tourism and heritage
management to have knowledge of other related and relevant
fields.
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Having been a part of the academe for decades now, I have the
utmost respect and appreciation for the role of universities in
cultural resource management, especially in the West. Universities
are some of the most ardent supporters of heritage preservation
and have advised their communities or countries on policies relating
to cultural management, one of the major pursuits of the academe.
Nonetheless, are the universities doing enough, especially in the case
of Southeast Asia? Heritage management courses were developed
by universities to respond to conservation needs. Improvements
to these programmes are constantly needed to counter the rage
of destruction of cultural resources. Why is it then that in Southeast
Asia, university courses offered so far are less responsive
to the evolving nature of managing heritage resources? Instead,
tourism courses are developed faster, which in many cases are more
money-oriented and not exactly conservation-conscious.
Charges are occuring rapidly, and as mentioned above, the issues
faced by cultural resource management (CRM) professionals are
becoming more complex and varied. The skills of those involved
in heritage management need to constantly adapt to challenging
situations, and this is where universities come in. There is a big
question now about whether university courses on CRM are
responsive, relevant, and timely.
University courses need to be improved through the adoption of
a multi-disciplinary approach to cultural resource management
Essentially, CRM is a multi-disciplinary subject incorporating
business administration, heritage site conservation management,
heritage tourism, archaeology, museum studies, visual and performing
arts, advertising, etc.. The aim or purpose is shifted from the purely
educational to being both educative and economically profitable.
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